Day Five

"If you had all resources at your disposal, how far would you go to protect your companion?" Nye asked Liam the next morning.

Liam had awoken early to find her before morning services.

"I don't know."

"Would you go so far as to deny him his freedom?"

"Never."

"Even if it was in his best interests?"

"I wouldn't do anything to make Da'an uncomfortable, if that's what you're asking. We've never really disagreed about my security methods though."

"What about your government? Has it ever gone so far as to deny its people of its freedom in order to protect them?"

"It's doing so now. But it also did so in the early twenty-first century after a terrorist attack destroyed the World Trade Center and killed a lot of people. The Patriot Act gave police officials the ability to search people's houses without a warrant if they suspected terrorist activity. There were random checks at the airports like there are now at the portal stations. There was security all over the place, and it made a lot of people feel uncomfortable."

"And now, Zo'or and the Synod, with the help of governments around the world are doing the same thing with volunteers instead of police officials, correct?"

"It's one of the many things we're trying to stop. The companions have everyone spooked into believing that a Jaridian invasion's on the way. Security's at its highest at the portal stations. Volunteers have the right to search your home, your car, and your workplace if they suspect you to be a part of any anti-companion organization. They call us terrorists."

"Does that make you angry?"

"It makes me very angry. What right do they have to invade on our privacy based on a threat that doesn't exist?"

"Tell me, major, if you had been alive during the early twenty-first century when fear of terrorism was spread by your own government, would you still feel that way?"

"No government should violate any of its citizen's basic rights."

"And what of times of war? Do you believe that still applies?"

"People already feel on edge during war times, so no."

"But it also makes some people feel more secure and safe to know there are officers on the street taking away the evil. In fact, some people are willing to give up their freedoms during war times just to feel safe. Was that not the case back in the forties and fifties during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War?"

"You've really researched into this," Liam complimented. "In my mind, we're at war already, and during war times, I believe that if people have nothing else to rely on, if they have nothing else to go on, they should at least feel that they still have their basic rights as citizens. No child should be afraid to go to school every morning because an officer's parked outside his house. No one should have to fear that their most private moments will be exposed in the name of security."

"Even if the officer conducting the search is courteous, kind, and gives you his word that there is nothing to worry about?"

"Officers lie, courtesy is only lasts as long as innocence does, and in a lot of people's minds, when an officer barges into their home—even in sheep's clothing—there's always something to worry about. Why are you asking me all of this?"

"Because I want you to understand why the Commonality became the way it is to Taelons. I want you to understand why the priests believe what they are doing is for the betterment of all Taelons. I want you to understand why Da'an and Taelons like him were so willing to entrust their fate to the priests, the Commonality, and the Synod."

Nye led Liam into the same area where her prayer services had gone on yesterday. Then, she offered for him to sit on the blue mat.

"The Commonality was never meant to be a mind prison. It was never supposed to carry the degree of power over an individual that it has today. The Commonality was originally nothing more than a psychic link that enabled the Taelons to sustain their forms with the help of their brethren. It represented brotherhood and helping your fellow man. Your Kimeran ancestors meant for it to be this way and no other way. However, they also knew that Taelon enemies would try to attack the Commonality, and a rupture could mean the end, so they bestowed a sacred power on eight individuals. These eight individuals were supposed to be spiritually and mentally superior in the seven virtues essential to sentient life: courage, brotherhood, honesty, trustworthiness, love, faith, and knowledge. Each priest was especially selected based on his or her adherence to that key virtue."

"Seven virtues for seven priests. What about the eighth?"

"The eight was supposed to be incorruptible. When all other virtues faded, he would be a beacon. The high priest, the priest of light."

"So what happened?"

"At first nothing. We were a prosperous society. We were peaceful with little to no enemies. The priests were never anything more than advisors. They blessed all new children to the Commonality. They offered guidance to the lost and forgiveness to the heavy of heart. Things began to change however when the Jaridians began expanding their territory. The Jaridian Empire became so large that inevitably they began to attack us. It was never anything truly serious. No Jaridian had ever attacked the planet or the moons. Most attacks were isolated and abroad. However, as the Jaridians grew more and more powerful, the Taelons looked to the priests for security.

"That was when the Synod was created. All the Taelon territories united and the result was a Synod of thirteen members. Elite Taelons were elected to bring unity and security to the Commonality. They handled the political, and the priests handled the spiritual. Soon we began to draw our own empire, one strong enough to compete with the Jaridian armies. As our power grew, little by little our freedom began to die. It happened so subtly that no one noticed, and anyone who did notice dismissed it by claiming it was just for the best. I do not believe that anyone expected the Commonality's power to grow so large for so long. That is often how corruption rears its ugly head, however."

"How do you know so much about it?"

"Because I was one who believed such things. I embraced our imperative to grow and expand to impede the growing Jaridian threat. You see, I was once a priestess just like them."

Liam's focus on Nye's face grew. Surprise only lasted for a moment and was replaced by curiosity. He felt that he had always known she was a priestess. What he really wanted to know was why she left.

"My best virtue is knowledge, as you probably guessed. It was why Ma'el intrigued me so when I first met him. He was such an anomaly. I doubt any words in any language could describe what went on inside his mind. Nobody could have known what he foresaw. I always wondered if he knew that I was going to depart from the priesthood. But now, I wonder if he did not create my future when he implanted those images in my mind."

"What do you mean?"

"Ma'el knew what we were going to do to Da'an, and he also knew we would attempt to do the same to him. He knew we would fail as well, which was why he was so defiant and audacious when he came to us on the day of his sixteenth year. The whole time he seemed especially focused on me. He knew that, unlike the other priests, he intrigued me. We tried to psychologically break him by calling him an abomination. We tried to convince him that his gifts were dangerous and that he was hurting those he had meant to help. He was immovable, like a stonewall. For every question, he had an answer, and for every criticism, he had a retort. He said we had abused our power so terribly that we had become corrupt in our own illusion of security. We had abused the gifts the Kimera had bestowed upon us. We abused it the moment we slaughtered them for trying to correct their mistake. Our paranoia had gotten the better of us, and in the end we would pay for our sins by bringing the entire Taelon species down with us. Strong words from such a young Taelon, and I never would have believed him had the destruction of our planet never occurred. He had predicted it to the precise date—the price for our ignorance and arrogance. However, on that day he came to us with his many radical predictions, he bestowed a special one upon me that none of my fellows knew of. He said that I would be the only one to believe. I would be the only one to save his sibling. Every now and then, I wonder if he selected me. Perhaps he knew that I was the only one who would listen to him. Whatever it was, I could no longer stand for the corruption that had overtaken my fellows. They were so high on their power and the religion they had created 'in the best interests of the Taelons' that they had lost all of their virtues. What riled me the most was how unaware they were of their own corruption. So I left. The priests said that I had died on the planet, and they turned me into a martyr.

"I never thought I would see the day that I would come to Ma'el for guidance, but I had to see him before the day he left. By the time I came, he had prepared his ship for time travel to Earth. He said that he knew I was coming, and he told me that he already had answers to my questions. He said that he had implanted a series of memories inside Da'an, and that on the day those memories surfaced, I was to bring him here and grant him the freedom he needed to liberate the Taelons from the Commonality that had evolved into a prison."

"How did Da'an even lose his memories of his childhood?" Liam asked.

"We believed that suppressing Da'an and Ma'el's gifts was not enough. As long as they were together, they would find a way to renew their gifts. Therefore, we had to destroy all knowledge of their familial relationship. The first of that was to destroy their birth records and create new ones. To this day, every Taelon that is alive today knows that Da'an and Ma'el are not related in the slightest. Da'an's parent was Bel'lie, and Ma'el's parent was Tam'bi. The two had no relation. The next step was to rid the twins of all memories of their childhood. Because Da'an was not as mentally strong as Ma'el was, we succeeded with him. We were never able to break Ma'el, but we had manipulated Da'an so well that he wanted nothing to do with Ma'el anyway. Ma'el could never even attempt to convince Da'an that they were related."

"How do you turn twins into strangers?"

"Despite the fact that their human facades make them look similar, their Taelon forms are not alike. They were not identical. They were fraternal. That was why it was doable. It also helped that once Da'an's memories were eliminated, we isolated him for a year. We said that he was undergoing special training to become a diplomat. In reality we were…brainwashing him, I believe is how you would put it. By the time we were through with him, Ma'el was a stranger, not even worthy enough for déjà vu."

"That was why Da'an was so willing to accept it."

"Yes. Whenever something happened that would bring him too close to the truth, we would eliminate any memory of it. The images you saw were pieces of the memories we suppressed."

"Why didn't you make any effort to tell Da'an after you left?"

"Ma'el asked me not to. He said it was meaningless as long as he was under the priests' control. The only way I could help him was to find a way to free him, and as a former priestess, I was the only one who could. Now I have, and I am keeping my promise to Ma'el despite the fact that my mind and my logic tell me that Da'an will not succeed."

"Don't you have any faith in him at all? You had enough faith in his twin to follow his orders even after this long."

"I am the priestess of knowledge, Liam. I am not without my skepticism. However, I am also willing to learn, and, in this case, I am ready and willing to admit when I am wrong." Nye turned to the window and listened to the drip of water from the limbs of the trees. "Plenty of moisture today. Your friend is currently at peace."

Liam nodded. "So am I."


As Da'an ran further and further from the high priest, the ground gave way beneath his feet. However, instead of falling, Da'an found himself floating. It was quiet and calm. The weightlessness soothed him so that fear never had a chance to overtake him. Suddenly he thought of "The Silent Life."

When he felt the weightlessness subside, he found himself on a sandy ground. He lifted himself from the floor to find himself in the middle of an endless sea of sand dunes. There was no wind, and Da'an could not feel the immense heat causing the mirage in the distance. As he walked, the sand beneath his feet felt smooth and comforting.

In the distance, a wavy mirage seemed to take on the appearance of a man. Da'an could see the legs slowly approaching him. Soon the arms and the head came into place, and Da'an was certain that it was a man coming his way. Suspicious that it was a priest, Da'an thought of walking away, but as he got closer, Da'an realized that this man was not a priest. This man had a face, a face that was very much like his. However, Da'an could see the masculine features in his lips, his brows, and his cheeks. Underneath his brown hood, Da'an could see the dark red hair on his head.

Now he was inches away from Da'an, and neither of them could budge. A warmth was with this man in the hood, a familiar warmth.

He removed the hood to reveal a man with bright blue eyes, eyes like Da'an's.

"Hello twin," he said in a masculine voice.

Da'an did not know what to say.

"It has been a long time."

Da'an observed the sand underneath his feet. "Ma'el…"

He brought Da'an's head back up to face him. "Yes."

A brilliant blue blush covered Da'an's body. "Th-This is not real. You are dead."

"The dead have a place in this plane…along with those awfully close."

"How did you…"

"Does this form discomfort you?" he asked.

"It makes me curious."

"I chose it as a reflection of my personality. It is only a façade. I am still your twin underneath." He blushed to prove his point, but Da'an was not convinced.

Da'an's fingers made their way across his hair and his forehead, all the while with his eyes examining his twin's very closely. Ma'el's hand met his and joined palms with his. A sudden flush of emotion and warmth ran through Da'an's body. "It is you."

Ma'el chuckled. Then, he lifted one finger to get his twin's attention. He let his fingertips meet his twins, and then a ponderous look overcame him. "Blue."

"Always," Da'an replied. They both chuckled.

Ma'el turned and gestured for Da'an to walk with him.

"How did you create this place?" Da'an asked him.

"The same way you are recreating your own memories."

"You were watching me?"

"It appeared that you could use some aid."

"I do not even know why I am here anymore. This entire journey has me twisted and confused. I do not know how to feel about all of this."

"Now you know how I felt when I first came to Earth."

"Why did all of this have to happen so quickly? I was not prepared for it at all."

"Even the wisest man who can see his death miles ahead of him is never truly prepared to face it."

"I feel so lost."

"Your path is at a moment of change. Everything that you have learned to embrace is under question and suspicion right now. You have no idea how to face it, much less how to understand it."

"I liked it back when I knew what my future held in store for me, regardless of how bleak it was. All of this is too much. I have no clue where to go from here. I actually thought I would have a hundred things to say to you if I ever saw you again, and now I can only think of one."

"You want to know your future. You want to know what lies ahead for you should you free yourself."

"You will not answer that."

"I cannot."

"Then, you can at least tell me why this all has happened."

"The path to salvation has to begin with one. Why you are that one should not be your concern. The time of the priests and the Commonality is reaching its end. The Commonality was never meant to last forever. The Kimera knew that eventually the Taelons would evolve past the need for it. That time is now, and those who control the Commonality are threatened. Once they lose the Commonality, all of their power and control is mute. People like this will not let the Commonality fade away so lightly."

"If that is the case, then you and I are not anomalies. We are evolutionary."

"Now, you understand."

"But why me? Why should I lead them?"

"Because right now, you are the only one they would listen to. Individuality is not an anomaly, nor is it an abomination. It is the next step on the Taelon's path towards evolution."

"Only ours?"

"For every sentient species in the universe, evolution varies. Change is a vicious cycle. For individual become unity only to have it change back again. The more things change, the more they stay the same. The leader of the change must be an Amo'qui."

"Why?"

"The Amo'qui family is the only existing Taelon line now that directly descends from the original priests."

Now it made sense. Now he truly understood. "That is why you want me, and that is why the priests of now are trying so hard to control me."

"And it only gets more difficult from here. After this, I will not be able to assist you, and the priests will do everything in their power to break through your very soul. All the sins of your past are about to return to haunt you. You will beg for either death or mercy in the end."

"What can I do?"

"You go back."

A large sting of disappointment! "Now? But it has only been minutes. I can't leave you. I do not want to lose you."

"I came here to give you one last message before the end. When you are at your lowest and on the edge of hell, I want you to remember something—something that I told you centuries ago as you slept. Once that happens, there will never be another doubt in your mind again and you will walk tall as you once did."

"Why can I not know now?"

"This is the way it has been done for centuries, Da'an. Things like this must be taken in steps, not leaps. You have taken a rather large step already. Trust me when I say that you are much stronger than anyone ever could have predicted. I could never in a million years have put myself through the burdens you have endured. I could never have made the critical decisions you face everyday. I am a like the stones that once made up the large desert land. I was once strong, but time has eroded me into sand. Now, all that is left for me to do is scatter with the winds. Mere tricks and premonitions are not the strongest mind, and the soul is not limited to its own sins. Break the river with sticks and stones, and you do not falter. To wound the calm, compassionate, and clear water is to only make you stronger. Split the sky with lightning and you are there. Melt the ice with fire and you rise." Ma'el placed his hand behind Da'an's neck. "One of us had to accept the burden, and you were always the stronger."

Da'an pulled Ma'el in and brought his forehead against his twin's. He did not understand.

"I am proud of you, my twin, and no matter where you go, I will always love you. I will always protect you."

The sky grew dark, and the clouds were replaced with stars.

"I shall always be with you," were Ma'el's last words.

Da'an held Ma'el close to him for one last time, and then he was alone again.